The city of Santa Clarita, in partnership with Santa Clarita Sister Cities, invites local students to submit original artwork, poetry, essays/creative writing, photographs or music for the 2024 Young Artists and Authors Showcase.

The theme of the contest this year is “CLIMATESCAPE: Resilient Cities for Tomorrow’s Climate.” Students are encouraged to highlight the challenges of climate change and its impact on communities, as well as envision a climate-resilient and sustainable future and what that looks like to foster a brighter, more sustainable tomorrow. The top entries from Santa Clarita will be submitted to Sister Cities International in Washington, D.C. to compete with submissions from other Sister Cities organizations around the world for the grand prize of $1,000 in each category.

To qualify, students must be between 13 and 18 years old on May 1, 2024. Interested teens may submit one entry per category, along with a completed entry form, by visiting the sister cities’ website. Guidelines and criteria for each category are also outlined on the website. Online submissions are due to Santa Clarita Sister Cities by Monday, April 15.

Santa Clarita students have routinely been successful internationally in this contest. In 2023, Nicole Clarin (Academy of the Canyons) won the Grand Prize in the Essay/Creative Writing category. In addition, Grace Lee (West Ranch High School) won Third Place in the Art/Digital Medium category.

Santa Clarita Sister Cities is a local organization with a mission to foster international partnerships between the City of Santa Clarita and cities abroad, and to promote mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation through reciprocal youth, cultural, educational, professional, humanitarian and economic programs and exchanges. Santa Clarita Sister Cities is a member of Sisters Cities International, a non-profit organization created by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 to advance partnerships among communities around the globe and promote peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation – one individual, one community at a time. The City of Santa Clarita has two international Sister Cities — Tena, Ecuador and Sariaya, Philippines.

 For more information on Santa Clarita Sister Cities and the Young Artists and Authors Showcase and to submit an entry, visit the website. For questions about the showcase, please contact Tess Simgen at (661) 250-3726 or email SisterCities@santaclarita.gov.